Murdered teen's son accepts her high school diploma

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- It was a day meant for pomp and circumstance that Booker T. Washing ton High School graduated had been waiting to see.

However, Terri Johnson found it difficult to celebrate.

"I'm holding on. I'm holding on. Just taking it one day at a time," Johnson said. "That's all I can do now."

Instead of her daughter, Myneishia, standing on the stage at the Orpheum Theater in her cap and gown, she was buried in it on Friday.

"It was a bad day. It was a long, bad day," Jasmine Johnson, Myneishia's sister, said.

Myneishia, also known as Shugnug, was murdered near Beale Street last weekend.

Her accused killer, Kwasi Corbin, is locked up.

"Say Congratulations, mommy," Chantee Black said as she held Myneishia's child.

Shugnug left behind a 1-year-old son named Kylan.

"This was her prized possession, Kylan. She loved her son," Black said.

Now forced to grow up without a mother, Kylan was given a gift that will last him a lifetime.

He accepted his mother's high school diploma.

"I feel good for me and my grandbaby to walk across that stage and get that diploma," Terri Johnson said.

"We missing Myneishia, but we're very proud of her. We looked forward to this day," Black said.

Ms. Johnson had a message for her daughter:

"I love you Shugnug. Momma got Kylan. You got so much support -- so much friends and family that love you, baby. I know you see us 'cause you watching down on us. I just want you to know from all of us -- we love you Shugnug."

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Murdered teen's son accepts her high school diploma

In this July 30, 2015 picture, a member of the Baltimore Police Department removes crime scene tape from a corner where a victim of a shooting was discovered in Baltimore. Murders are spiking again in Baltimore, three months after Freddie Gray's death in police custody sparked riots. This year's monthly bloodshed has twice reached levels unseen in a quarter-century. In May, Baltimore set a 25-year high of 42 recorded killings. After a brief dip in June, the homicide is soaring again. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In this July 30, 2015 picture, balloons and candles mark a spot where a man was shot earlier in the week, in Baltimore. Murders are spiking again in Baltimore, three months after Freddie Gray's death in police custody sparked riots. This year's monthly bloodshed has twice reached levels unseen in a quarter-century. In May, Baltimore set a 25-year high of 42 recorded killings. After a brief dip in June, the homicide is soaring again. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Police patrol a downtown street Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015, in St. Louis. With the city facing an increase in violent crime, including homicides, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson has asked the Missouri State Highway Patrol to assist policing downtown, a patrol official said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A Baltimore Police officer follows a man, who screamed "Let me in! I'm going in!" before crossing the yellow tape and walking into the crime scene on the 100 block of Upmanor Road, in Baltimore, where a young boy and a 31-year-old woman were shot and killed, Thursday, May 28, 2015. In the month since Freddie Gray died and the city erupted in civil unrest, Baltimore has seen its murder rate skyrocket. There have been 36 murders in May alone. (AP Photo/Juliet Linderman)

This July 30, 2015 picture shows a blighted home in west Baltimore. Murders are spiking again in Baltimore, three months after Freddie Gray's death in police custody sparked riots. This year's monthly bloodshed has twice reached levels unseen in a quarter-century. In May, Baltimore set a 25-year high of 42 recorded killings. After a brief dip in June, the homicide is soaring again. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Investigators look over a New Orleans Police department vehicle in which one officer was shot and killed while transporting a prisoner in New Orleans, Saturday, June 20, 2015. The New Orleans Police Department said Officer Daryle Holloway was shot while transporting Travis Boys, who managed to get his handcuffed hands from behind his back to the front, grab a firearm and shoot the officer. A manhunt was underway for the 33-year-old Boys, according to Police Chief Michael Harrison. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Police and K-9 search the area where a New Orleans Police officer was shot and killed in his vehicle while transporting a prisoner in New Orleans, Saturday, June 20, 2015. The prisoner remains at large. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)